One of the most important elements in mobile devices is the screen, since it is where our sight puts the focus of attention and which we use to interact. It is increasingly common to find OLED panels which were slowly demanding the DC Dimming technology that manages to change the screens through DC dimming.
This evolution is preceded by LCD screens and tries to improve the results of PWM technology that causes the screen to flicker if we see it through another mobile or a video camera. With the use of DC Dimming we manage to reduce the consumption of screens and flicker without losing possibilities on our mobile. Since it is a complex system, we will try to explain it as closely as possible.
What is DC Dimming
This technology is directly related to the power that the device supplies to the screen, making a relationship between voltage and current. With DC Dimming technology and the use of DC screen dimming we manage to decrease the power required for the panel and therefore reducing its brightness even though we cannot see it with the naked eye.
The system treats the screen in a more precise way depending on the moment before which we find ourselves, which will allow a better adaptation in low light situations, especially. With this we limit the amount of energy that the panel consumes and tries to maintain the refresh rate that the user has configured.
How it affects users
During the day to day of the users, this technology is especially effective in improving the off and on sections that smartphones face. In the following image we can check the operation of a screen with 100% brightness and different levels. In the last of all we can see how the screen is continuously turning on and off, which generates a flickering of the screen that we cannot perceive with the naked eye.
With the application of DC Dimming screen technology we can lower the brightness by reducing the intensity without having to resort to this method that continuously turns the pixels off and on again. This is very beneficial in limiting eye strain that causes headaches and migraines after prolonged exposure on the effects of blinking. In the following video we can test how the effect varies through the camera lens when we have the CC screen attention turned off or on.
Compatible phones
An essential requirement to know if we can use DC Dimming is to know the type of screen that our mobile phone has, only OLED panels will be able to use this function. To verify it, we only have to search our smartphone on our site and check what type of technology it uses on its screen. In case it is OLED, in addition the manufacturer must have added the possibility, something that is done through software and has no need for hardware.
So far, Chinese manufacturers have opted for this function the most, among which we find OPPO, OnePlus, Realme, Huawei or Xiaomi with the following models, it is true that it is not an easy to identify technology and most likely is that there are more models but they have not been released.
- Huawei P30 and P30 Pro
- Huawei P40, P40 Pro and P40 Pro +
- Black Shark 2
- Xiaomi Mi 9
- Xiaomi Mi 10
- OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro
- OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro
- OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro
- Realme X2 Pro
How to activate the CC dimming
There is no valid method for all the mobiles that we have been able to know that integrate the function, depending on the personalization layer we are going to be able to activate it in one way or another, although it is mostly found in the system sections as a new option in tests, in other cases directly in the screen options.
On OnePlus smartphones with OxygenOS we have been able to verify that it is in Settings> Utilities> OnePlus Laboratory. From here we are going to be able to activate it, taking into account that it is an option under test and could still contain possible failures.
